Jack Dragna from a Los Angeles Police Department Mug Shot - 1946 Jack Dragna, born Giacomo Tommaso or Ignazio Dragna in Corleone, Sicily, in 1891, was a notorious American mobster who rose to power in the early 20th century, leading one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Southern California. After immigrating to the United... Continue Reading →
Moe Sedway and Las Vegas
Above: Moe Sedway enjoys a cigar with friend and casino partner Gus Greenbaum (Right) Moe Sedway was an American gangster and a close associate of the infamous mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. Born in 1894 in Ukraine, Sedway immigrated to the United States as a child and grew up in New York City's Lower East Side.... Continue Reading →
Organized Ohio – The Mayfield Road Gang and Casinos
Today, Cleveland is best known as the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Clinic. Plus, their pro sports teams the Indians, Cavaliers, and Browns. The town and its weather are harsh, face-first against the cold winter winds that constantly blow from Lake Erie. Not the most inviting atmosphere, but... Continue Reading →
Your Desert Inn Casino Host – Wilbur Clark
Wilbur Clark was a prominent figure in the development of Las Vegas, known for his contributions to the city's casino industry and luxurious resort properties. Congenial and affable, he offered a friendly face and made a casino look safe – not shady. Las Vegas was never perfect, but the right frontman never hurt. In the... Continue Reading →
Moe Dalitz as Mr. Las Vegas opens the Desert Inn Casino
Moe Dalitz was a prominent American businessman and organized crime figure who rose to prominence during the Prohibition era. Born on December 25, 1899, in Boston, Massachusetts, he grew up in a Jewish family and dropped out of school at 14 to work in the garment industry. However, he realized quickly he could make more... Continue Reading →
The Stardust’s Founder – Tony Cornero
Tony Cornero (born Anthony Cornero Stralla in Northern Italy, 1899) was a moving force in the California rum running enterprises of the 1920s and an early Las Vegas casino owner. When his father lost the family farm in Italy due to gaming loses, young Tony vowed to be on the other side of the cards... Continue Reading →
The Chicago Outfit and Skimming Las Vegas
At the risk of beating a dead horse, I’ve finished another book that deals with Las Vegas casinos and the impact organized crime had on the city and its eventual financial health as the 1980s rolled around. However, Vegas and the Chicago Outfit is primarily about how the Outfit came to power, how its early... Continue Reading →
The King’s Castle
How's this for a great shot from the early '70s? This postcard is from Reno Tahoe Specialty, Inc. Nate Jacobson built the King's Castle Casino at Incline Village (Lake Tahoe), Nevada after selling his part of Caesars Palace in 1969. A former insurance salesman, broker, and owner, Jacobson faced charges from the Securities and Exchange... Continue Reading →
Meyer Lansky’s Mob Influence
Meyer Lansky was influential enough to draw hundreds of inquiries from law-enforcement agencies during his lifetime, from the FBI, CIA, Highway Patrol offices in dozen's of states, local police, detective agencies, you name it, somebody wanted to know more about him. Strange, because as dirty and sticky as his hands were for the Mob, no... Continue Reading →
Mob City – Reno Connection
When Lucky Luciano organized the first Commission of the American Mafia, the cities with representation were all large, heavily invested in the riches from Prohibition, and had a ready delivery system for the booze that came in, usually along waterways and docks controlled by gangs. Detroit, Buffalo, and Cleveland (although each currently seeing a decline... Continue Reading →